


A Pirate's Tale

by Buckys_Luscious_Locks



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Pirate, Alternate Universe - Pirates of the Caribbean Fusion, Avengers as crew members, F/M, Inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean, Love, Mermaid!Reader, Pirate burnmark, Pirate!Bucky Barnes, Pirates of the Caribbean References, Scarred Bucky Barnes, Sharks, Smut, Whip scars, also schmex, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 10:30:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20833988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckys_Luscious_Locks/pseuds/Buckys_Luscious_Locks
Summary: Captain James Barnes sails together with his faithful crew across the Seven Seas when after an unforeseen accident they rail in a real, living, breathing mermaid.





	A Pirate's Tale

**Author's Note:**

> holy shit I truly hope this is decent and I am making no promises of updating this story on set dates like fully functioning people would do haha please don't kill me  
(Gimme da kudos and comments pls I need to know what you think so far :)))))

_"FIRE!"_

Bucky barked at his men, while they shouted obscenities and victorious howls at seeing the hostile ship going down into the deep water of the sea.

They had crossed sail ways by chance, and while Bucky's mind was set on letting them pass without any trouble, the other ship took advantage of Bucky's politeness by swinging their crew on his ship by ropes. Only few actually got on board before getting slaughtered right on the spot. And since that single uninvited footstep on their ship marked the start of a battle, Bucky's crew attacked without a hitch.

They bombed the ship until it wasn't even suitable for acting as firewood.

The men roared with joy as their Captain looked over them at his spot with a view over the entire horizon, his chest swelling with pride. Captain James Barnes, known for his ruthless behaviour towards any enemy, his talented crew and his mighty ship; The Avenger.

  
\----------

  
You on the other hand, were not feeling as ecstatic as the winning ship. You were intently watching their victory from afar while you rested your arms on a floating plank.

When you drifted too close, a heavy piece of wood broke from the ship and hit you just hard enough so you fell unconscious. The only sounds you heard were the men's muffled voices and sloshing water around you.

  
\----------

Once the excitement between their crew had ebbed away, Bucky watched them, feeling that same undefeated proudness after every successful fight. It was the testosterone, the passion for fighting and the unity that he did it for, what made him feel like a true ally of the seas.

He silently emerged himself in the middle of the crowd, head held high. The whole ship quieted down under his heavy footsteps. Once his mates had formed a circle around their Captain, Bucky passionately pulled his silver sword out of its sheath and accompanied with a roar, pushed it high in the air, pointed towards the skies.

It took no longer than two seconds for the crew to erupt again in loud cheering and shouting, basking in the glory of fulfillment. Bucky slid his heavy sword back in its leather sheath, opting to share his devotion to his mates; “Today is another victory like no other! What you have shown today only proved to me that you are all true protectors of the sea! Everyday together proves to me that you are all worthy of serving her in her time of need!”

The crew nodded and shouted their approval, remembering the vow they had to swear before they could enter his tight knit team; not to become a pirate to abuse the sea and take her power for selfish purposes, but to work with her, to help her, as she is the most important element in the entire world.

“I don’t think I tell you all enough how proud I am to be your Captain. I don’t think I nearly show you enough gratitude to-”

_"Captain!”_

“There's a woman in the water!" Barton shouts from where he's seated in his crow’s nest, taking the attention away from Bucky. It makes everyone immediately stand on edge, already focused on the impact of Clint’s words. Several men are standing at the edge of the ship, seeing you floating on a broken piece of wood, your tail hidden in the water.

Bucky hastily makes his way over to the group. “How long has she been there?” He asks with furrowed brows when he arrives.

"Barton's just spotted her, it's like she came out of nowhere." Romanoff states incredulously, since she knows Clint's eyes don't miss anything. "She might still be alive, but I'm not entirely sure." She says.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Bucky says while shedding his heavy coat and boots. His men are amazed by his dare, always have been. He climbs on the edge of the ship, leans forward and jumps into the deep waters in a perfect arch.

The water engulfs him as he lands, swimming under it until his breath runs short. He comes up, takes a nose full of air and swims as fast as he can to you, avoiding sharp rubble as he goes.

He swims up to you and shakes your limp arm, trying to wake you, but to no avail. He sees the cut in your head leaking blood and fears the worst.

He gently raises your head by your chin and places his finger under your nose. He waits anxiously but finds relief when he feels your shallow, cold breath. Bucky puts your arm around his strong shoulders and holds your bare waist with his right hand.

He starts swimming again, putting more force in his legs. He checks on you to make sure you don’t get any water in your mouth. You stay unconscious the whole time.

When he's back at the ship's side, he sees that his crew has already slung out the rope ladder for him. He turns you around in his arms so that your face rests in his neck. He grabs a rung with a tight grip and they start railing him in.

They all pull together as hard as they can, and soon their Captain is back on their ship. Bucky swings his legs over the border of the ship with your body in his arms. When his feet touch the hard wood, he immediately crouches from the exhaustion, pulling your body with him.

His eyes are still stinging with the amount of salt in them, so when he hears his entire crew gasp and then go dead quiet, he quickly rubs his palms over them. When he regains his sight, all he can do is stare with them.

You were not just a woman.

But a breath-taking _mermaid_.

Everyone seems to be in a trance while looking at your sleeping body. Your wet hair lies behind your head, your arms next to it. Your bare chest on display. Newcomer Peter is treated to his first eyeful. _Well_, _two_ to be exact. The only one who snaps them out of it, is Natasha. She had already taken off her coat and put it over your shoulders, hiding your skin from their view.

"You animals." She grumbles under her breath. The men turn their heads away, Steve blushing heavily. Bucky would have flashed him a smug grin if he wasn't so speechless. In all his years he'd been spending at sea, he had never once come across this.

Even as a young boy, James had been a pirate. His father had passed his title to him when he took his last breath, and since then he'd been picked up by his father’s crew that he had grown up with.

They travelled around the seas together for the majority of his life. The first time he had heard of mermaids was when he was 17 years old. The reason why he remembers this so clearly, is because it was the first time his old crew had let him into a pub.

His father had told them that if they'd turn him into an alcoholic, he'd come back from the dead and haunt them for the rest of their miserable lives.

They didn't want to risk it.

But, after lots and lots of complaining from James’ side, they eventually decided to let him experience it and not suck all the fun out of the poor boy’s life.

That night was probably one of the biggest milestones in his life.

It was a night of drinking a full pint of beer for the first time, scarcely dressed women flirting with him for the first time, and hearing old sailors telling tales about mermaids for the first time.

They talked about their beauty, how well they could sing, and going into discussions over who had actually seen one up close. Since he was new to this information, they warned him that “a young 'n pretty lad” like him could attract them and potentially kill him.

He was fascinated by these stories, but to be fair, he didn't believe a word of what they said.

But now that there is a living, breathing mermaid in front of him, he might consider going back to Tortuga and tell 'ole Jack that he was right all along.

Now that you are covered up, the crew starts looking at you again. Bucky kneels next to your head and checks on the wound. It stopped bleeding, but it still needed to be taken care of. While he looks at your face, he notices that your skin has started to dry very quickly, forming small, translucent flakes.

His eyes widen in recognition. He whips his head towards the bright sun that's shining heavily on them. They told him mermaids cannot survive in the burning sun, let alone when they are out of water. The stories they told him would be useful after all.

"She needs water immediately." He blatantly states. "She's going to die if she stays like this." He says more urgently.

When his men still don't react, he looks up to them and shouts, _"BRING_ _WATER_ _NOW_, _FOR_ _GODS_ _SAKE!"_ His voice penetrates their ears and they scramble for any bucket they can find to lower into the water.

Sam turns to Bucky with furrowed brows. "When we get the water, where do you plan to put her in? We can't just dump it on her." He asks. Bucky thinks for a moment before his brain finds a solution.

"My tub. I'm gonna put her in my tub." He answers before shoving his hand under your back and scooping you into his arms. Little flakes have started to come loose and he knows he needs to hurry. He dashes towards the door that leads to his chambers.

He kicks open the door and sees the wooden bathtub next to his bed. He hastily walks towards it and delicately lowers you down in it. It doesn't take long before Steve storms in with two large buckets of water. He hands them over to Bucky, who quickly pours them over you and in the tub, soaking you and the coat around your shoulders.

He can see that when the water touches your dry skin, it becomes shiny and healthy once again.

More of his men come in and hand over more buckets until the tub is filled to the edge with water. He remembers that he still has to take care of your wound. He turns around to face his crew.

"I know that this is the most absurd thing that has ever happened in my life and all of yours, but I need to stitch her up and I can't do that with an entire crowd starin’ at me. So, if you please, I'd like to be left alone right now." He says with a calm but clearly exasperated voice.

His crew starts shuffling uncomfortably, trying to get at least one more look at your mystical form. Bucky gives them a glare that tells them not to disobey a Captains' order. One by one, they shuffle back onto the deck of the ship.

Bucky stands up and quickly searches for needle and thread. He rummages through a few of his drawers before he finds what he's looking for. He spots his bottle of whiskey and grabs a small wooden stool, placing it next to the tub. He pulls the cork out of the bottle with his teeth and spits it away. Bucky pours some of it on your wound and then some on his needle. He makes sure there aren't any strands of hair in his way before he pulls the thread trough the eye of the needle and carefully starts to stitch your wound shut.

He tries to hold your head steady while he works, some if your blood escaping and leaking onto his hands. He's done this before to many of his men, after a rather challenging battle. Only this time, he's doing it to a woman, and that makes him work a thousand times more precise. He even hopes you're still fast asleep so you won't feel the pain.

He pulls a small knife out of his right boot and uses it to cut the thread loose. He ties a little knot to secure it. It looks good, better than he's ever done, and he's quite proud of himself. He takes the bucket Steve left and scoops some of the water out of the tub. He grabs a cloth, dips it in and cleans the blood off your head. Your eyes are still closed, and you look peaceful while you sleep. Bucky's mouth twitches upwards at the sight of you.

He washes his own hands and his eyes get caught on the turquoise tail that's hanging just over the edge of the tub. It's one of the most beautiful things he's ever seen, shinier than any piece of gold he's ever laid eyes on. When his hands are clean, he reaches out for it. His rough fingertips touch the smooth surface and he strokes your tail downwards until he reaches the fin.

When it twitches slightly, Bucky’s eyes shoot up to your face. Your eyelids scrunch up and he hears you grunting softly. He shuffles by your side on his knees and grips the edge of the wooden tub. Your head starts to sway from side to side, so he gently puts his hand on your cheek.

“Hey, you there?” He whispers, unsure. Your eyes flutter open slowly and you grunt at the sharp pain coming from the side of your head. When you spot the man next to you, you knit your brows together, mumbling.

“Where-where am I?” You ask confused, your words coming out slurred. Once you notice you’re not in the ocean but caught in a wooden box, you panic. Your eyes widen at the stranger and you try to swim away, your tail banging against the side of the tub. Bucky realizes how scared you must be, and tries to calm you down, hands flying up.

“Hey, stop that. You’re gonna hurt yourself, darlin’.” He says sternly, concerned for your safety. “I’m not gonna hurt ya, don’t worry. Just breathe, you’re gonna be fine, breathe in n’ out, just like this.” He mimics breathing calmly and you follow his instructions, led by his strong and deep voice. Gradually, you breathe properly again, your heart slowing down to its usual steady rhythm.

You finally tear your eyes away from his face now that you’ve calmed down, and take in the surroundings. The water you’re in is lukewarm and you see a bucket next to the stranger, which is filled with murky, reddish water. It makes you remember what happened to your head. Carefully, you reach out for the source of your pain on your head. You lightly touch around before you feel the slight brush of thread on your fingertips. You pull your hand back and see the bloody water left on it. All the while Bucky sits and watches a frown form on your face.

“We found you unconscious in the water. I took you here because I thought you’d die without the water. Do you remember what happened before that?” Bucky asks. You squirm uncomfortably, nodding yes. “I was watching you bomb the other ship. Something must have fallen on me while I was drifting closer.”

Bucky nods, “Well, if you can remember it that easily, the damage in your head ain’t too bad. The wound itself is probably gonna sting for a while, but it’ll heal.” The corners of his mouth raise in a reassuring smile. You shyly smile back, entranced by the mixture of his kind but rough nature. You have never encountered a human who cared for your wellbeing. Normally, when one of them sees you, all they want to do is capture you for their own good. They never consider that you don’t want that, but they don’t care.

“Thank you, for helping me.” You blush, not knowing why. Bucky smirks and pats your shoulder. “No problem, doll. Oh, by the way, what’s your name? Might be easier if I knew.” You tell him your name and ask his as well.

“Captain James Buchanan Barnes, but you can call me Bucky. You have a beautiful name, doll.” He holds his hand in the air, ready for you to shake it. You stare at it, unsure of what he wants you to do. Then you remember it’s what humans do if they see each other on land. You saw it a couple times when you were exploring the shore, curious of how they lived. You take your hand out of the water and excitingly shake it, smiling the whole time. You notice now that he’s wet as well.

“You jumped in the water for me? To get me out?" You ask bewildered. He smiles bashfully, “Yes, but honestly, we thought you were like us. We didn’t know you were a mermaid until you were on board.” He says, and you hug him out of gratitude. You never expected such kindness from a human, a _pirate_ nonetheless.

You pull back quickly, holding your emotions in. Only now you notice the heavy, soaked through coat on your shoulders, limiting your movements. It rubs irritatingly against your sensitive skin so you shrug it off, revealing yourself as it feels the most natural to you. Bucky immediately turns his gaze away from your breasts and looks down. You squeeze the soggy material between your fingers.

“Is this yours?” You ask. Bucky shakes his head and stands up, “No, it’s Natasha’s. But i’m sure she’d like it back when it’s dry. You can give it to me.” He awkwardly says, and you swear you can see his cheeks turning slightly pink. You hand the coat back and he wrings it out in the tub. When he turns to leave, you hastily grab his white shirt.

“You will be back, right? I don’t like being alone." He chuckles and sweeps his thumb over your cheek. “Yeah, I’ll be back in a minute. You don’t have to worry, sweetheart.” He says, and he opens his door, giving your worried features one more reassuring look before he closes it.

When he steps one foot on deck, he’s already getting millions of questions thrown at his ass. He sighs and barges his way through his crew until he reaches Natasha. He throws her coat and she catches it mid-air, giving him an amused look, one eyebrow raised.

“She didn’t need it anymore? Or did you charm it off of her, Barnes?” She asks sceptically while she smiles, shaking it and laying it over her arm. A dirty laughter erupts from the crew, making Bucky shake his head, “She wanted it herself, whether I liked it or not.” Nat smirks, satisfied with his answer and looks for a place to let her coat dry.

Steve appears by his side after he answers some random questions from a couple mates. “Buck, how is she? Does she feel ill?” He asks concerned.

“No, her wound’s gonna be fine. But she is kind of spooked by all of this, you can tell. I promised her I’d be back soon, so I’m gonna need you to back me up for a while, alright Steve?” He claps his best friend and quartermate on the back, knowing that Steve is the one he trusts the most to let him do this. They have been friends since they were kids, and they know each other through and through.

Back when Bucky was very young, he was quite lonely on his father’s boat. Sometimes it took weeks before they came ashore to get ration. And when they finally were on solid ground, he could barely spend time with other kids of his age or they had to leave again. Until one member of their crew came on board with his son and told them his wife had passed away due to illness.

That boy was Steve. A frail, thin kid in comparison to Bucky who was merely a year older than him. He had inherited his poor health from his mother, his father said. When they introduced Steve, he heard fellow teammates whisper that he wouldn’t last another year on the ship in the state that he was in. This made Bucky, who finally had a friend to play with, furious on the inside. He promised himself he’d take care of Steve from that day on.

Together with Steve, Bucky was happier than ever, and anyone could see that Steve was getting better and even healthier because of their strong friendship. After a few years, Steve looked nothing like that sickly kid anymore. He and Bucky had grown strong from the hard work on the ship, and had even outgrown him in length. Bucky was just happy that his health wasn’t restricting him anymore, and that he could live like everyone else.

“Well, finally I get to be called Captain, I thought I’d never see the day, you jerk.” Steve says mockingly.

Bucky sighs, already making his way back to his cabin, looking over his shoulder, “After all these years, you’re still a punk, Rogers.”

**Author's Note:**

> Okay for real tho, I do want to make multiple chapters but I do the school™ and such so I'm not sure if fast updates is what you're gonna get from me. This story will contain smut but I'm going to update the tags whenever I post new chapters :)) Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


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